


TCW: Aftermath

by AKhaos



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Betrayal, Dave is there too, Discussing what the hell happened, Geoffrey's been around for a while and does most of the talking, Henry's kind of brooding, Rivalry, TCW (ending), Thomas was happier when Henry was leader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25957039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKhaos/pseuds/AKhaos
Summary: Henry had no idea that such an innocuous (okay, maybe it wasn't so guiltless...) decision would come back to bite him so hard. Really, though, that was his life for the past year or so. But looking back up to the desert sky and seeing how far he fell, Henry had a bad feeling that this one was gonna stick with him for the long-haul.Henry and his ragtag group of Loyalists (plus Dave) hunker down and wrap their heads around whatever the hell just happened! Oh, and maybe hash out a plan, too. That would be nice.
Relationships: Ellie Rose & Henry Stickmin
Comments: 16
Kudos: 162





	TCW: Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> I mean, come on. How can one NOT write about this ending? Maybe it could've been fleshed out a little more but it's still a great brain exercise! Also, who knew Geoffrey would be so fun to write?

You know, it really paid to be the Leader of the Toppat Clan. Like, _really._

Not so much in like a stipend or annual salary, but between Henry's personal treasury and first pickings of all the spoils that the Toppat's heists brought in, he could actually call himself ultra rich! He could never call himself that in any other point of his life.

...It was getting smaller and smaller now. Just a fleeting red dot in an endless clear sky.

He chugged down the rest of his bottled water and wiped the moisture from his mouth. He eyed the distant shape sadly. That airship was supposed to be _his,_ and now it was gone.

It didn't pay anymore, because he wasn't leader anymore.

"Wha'? Can you still see it, Boss?" Geoffrey's pruney voice chimed. "Ah, I can't see it. Damn eyes aren't good for anything anymore!" He laughed humorlessly, putting his hand against his torso.

Henry only shook his head. Mr. Plumb (he was trying and failing to not make the obvious comparison) allegedly always had eyesight problems, because of his big head. Of course, no self-respecting Toppat was going to make a comment about it. For their personal safety, but also out of respect for one of the Clan's most distinguished, oldest members. He may not look the part, but this grouchy looking old man apparently knew how make nun-chucks fly like it was no one's business. Back in his youth, he made for a menacing enforcer for some of the higher-ups before joining the upper ranks himself. Henry hasn't seen the guy in action, but given all the almost concussions he's gotten over his life, he wasn't about to tempt fate anymore than he already has.

Geoffrey waved his hand and gestured him to follow. "C'mon boss. There ain't no use gettin' all remorseful about it. Why don't you hunker down for a bit, might make 'ya feel better." He turned on his walking stick, retreating back down into their improvised ditch.

Funnily enough, the four of them had landed back in the same desert that the Toppats had been flying over when he infiltrated his now defunct airship. His lips twisted. The irony wasn't lost on him.

He gave one last look to the sky, little blushes of red and orange bleeding into the setting sun. He could barely make out the tiny, fleeting shape anymore. He fully turned around and followed.

The little retreat they'd found was a small desert cove surrounded by some jutting, orange rocks. The way they were positioned meant the sandy wind would mostly blow over them while they rested. Not to mention that the cool air would settle over them just a little bit quicker. That was a good enough deal for him, and so he'd given the order to lay out what supplies they had and take a short break.

Good thing escape pods were equipped with small caches of supplies, otherwise they'd surely dehydrate by now. That would be a humiliating way for him to go out.

He patted down his own miserable spot in the not-as-soft sand and sat in it, tilting his gold-chained hat in the direction of the sun. At least he was able to keep _that_ before being gracelessly thrown off his ship.

He glanced around. Geoffrey, leaning back against the rock he was sitting on, took out his pipe and began smoking it. He coughed a bit before settling his lips back on it.

Mr. Chestershire was cleaning out his dual monocles, squinting in that focused way of his with a decorated handkerchief. The Toppat symbol emblazoned on it, of course, Henry thought amused.

And Dave, the prisoner who up until now was held in the airship brig, was waving his security cap towards his face in a vain attempt to cool himself down. Henry didn't know all the details about why Reginald insisted the guy stay in their _hospitality,_ but supposedly the dude had been there during his heist for the Tunisian Diamond all those months back. The foolish man had pushed his investigation too far apparently, and Fredrickson, the former mayor, had tipped the Toppats off to the guy's meddling.

Long story short, Dave had an even worse lucky streak than Henry, and that was saying something! For now, though, because his list of allies was thinner than the sand they were stewing in, he saw no reason to tell the guy to take a hike. Besides, he _did_ try to knock out the traitor guarding the cells, even if the attempt was kinda pathetic. Still, the options he had were probably too out there to realistically work.

Allies... looks like he was back to square one...

Finally accepting his defeat, Dave settled his cap back on as he gave out a tired huff. He sighed loudly. "Man, when did my life turn into this stupid roller coaster? And when can I get off?"

Thomas glanced up, his pretty stylish eyes (even without the awesome two monocles) giving the former security guard a tired glance. "...I can't say for certain, Mr. Panpa." Henry internally chuckled. Of course Thomas would know all the things about the ship, even the full name of its prisoner(s). "For now, we can only give you our word that none of us will bring you to harm." His eyes narrowed. "That said, we cannot allow you to separate from us until it's absolutely certain that you won't pose a problem."

That only seemed to deflate him more. He let out a pathetic groan and hunched himself further.

Geoffrey blew out a puff of smoke and coolly looked at Thomas. "Don't know why we need to bother, Tom." Thomas slightly flinched. Henry held in his snicker. Even after all this time, even thrown off the airship and in a bloody desert, he _still_ doesn't like Geoffrey referring to him so casually. Ahh, too perfect. "We can't exactly watch him 24/7, and remember, Floyd was there when Henry broke us out. Besides, that girl didn't know about the propeller in his hat, but the higher-ups might. Not much point dragging him along then."

Just to drive the point home, Henry pointed the top of his hat to his face and let the propeller blow low-powered wind in his face. It felt pretty great. Dave looked on with jealousy.

"She'll know..." Henry whispered. The others looked at him, since he didn't talk all that much. He laid down on his back and looked up to the sky. "Ellie'll know I'm alive."

"Be that as it may," Thomas continued. "That is not the risk I was referring to." Geoffrey tilted his head, confused. He shook his head, speaking exasperatedly. "The military. If Mr. Panpa leaves us, he will likely be recovered by the military, who will then become aware of Henry's deposition. We will be sitting ducks out here, or anywhere for that matter, if we let this man go before we are properly oriented."

Geoffrey looked like he's swallowed something not so good. "Ah, crap." He cursed. "That's right." His eyed widened again, bonking his head with his hand. "Not to mention when they find out about the split. The Toppats will be adjusting for new leadership; on top of the rocket, this'd be the perfect time to try and take us all out!" Geoffrey turned back to a pale Dave. "Yeeeaah, we're gonna be keeping you for a little while longer, buddy."

"...Would it be enough if I, uh, p-promise not to say anything to anyone? Huh? _Huh?"_

All three of them shook their heads.

Dave, certain that his torture would be continuing into the foreseeable future, gave up and laid back down into the sand. He didn't even care when it blew up from his body flopping to the ground, getting all over his clothes.

Geoffrey turned his attention to Henry, who was still blowing his top hat in his face. He noticed and turned to see Geoffrey's pensive look.

"Hmm, y'know, now that I say it, who _are_ they gonna replace Henry with?"

This caught everyone's attention. Dave, still sullen in his now figurative captivity, looked up tiredly, but still looked interested. Thomas put back on his second monocle, completing the looked of the ultimate dapper accountant.

Henry scrunched his forehead in thought. That was a good question. Following their little crash landing, all of them were shocked to see that the pod hadn't just landed on _something,_ but _someone._ Or, actually, _two_ someones. A now-ruined black top hat and missing robotic limb pretty much confirmed it. Reginald Copperbottom and Right Hand Man were dead.

It was almost unreal, Henry thought. He never had the greatest affection for Reginald, even after he surrendered the airship and position of leader. Just gave off the wrong aura. And, really, _that mustache._ Enough said. RHM, Henry knew, was also extremely loyal to the former leader; something about old history and dedication to the Clan. RHM had never really forgiven Henry for what he did to him all that time back, but he at least seemed content enough with Reginald staying as his second! He never really thought it to be a viable branch that the guy would betray him so brazenly in front of everyone.

More the fool him, it seems. Henry shook his head. Reality had proven plenty of times already that it would happily throw the absurd at him. He needed that beat into his skull... Preferably without a club or otherwise hard, metal object.

Thomas cleared his throat and readjusted his hat. "Well, I... hmm." He rubbed his chin. "That's right. The Denouncement Ceremony was quite rushed, and without Reginald to return to the position, due to his... condition, no one is ready to immediately take the position. It will have to come to an Emergency Leader Vote now." Henry internally groaned. He always felt it was absurd how the Toppat Clan always had such formal names for such unusual situations. _Denouncement Ceremony? Emergency Leader Vote?_ Man, Toppats were his life now (was?), but there were some things that were too absurd for even him.

Thomas then shook his head, looking uncharacteristically angry. "Speaking of, what was that absurd show up there? It seemed as soon as Reginald began speaking, the entire room was hanging off his every word!" He shook his head, gesturing to Henry. "Even assuming that the girl's, this Ellie's, allegations were true-" Henry's head dipped lower. "-that does not excuse the lack of evidence! This should have been a long process, poured over at least the next few days to determine the validity of her claims; quite serious claims. Or, or, why not even delegate it to a Battle of Imminent Succession? At least that is a long-standing tradition of the Toppat Clan!"

Henry remembered the day he took over leadership. That was a tougher decision than he originally thought it'd be. Freedom from the law, or freedom against the law. Reginald had dropped a bomb on him, practically giving up control of a criminal empire in exchange for sparing him from the government. It had looked like a too-good-to-be-true joke, and could you blame Henry? But given everyone else's shock in the hanger, it was a deadly serious offer. And he knew by thieves' code that Reginald was honor-bound to live up to that promise, lest his crew lose a ton of respect for him. Quickly thinking it over, Henry realized just how one-sided the dilemma was, and made his choice.

But yeah, turns out the Toppat Clan had a system in place for super ambitious clan members, and sometimes those outside the clan, to take over the whole thing! Now, there were _rules._ For one, you couldn't be cheeky and stealth kill the leader or murder him by surprise and claim his title and riches. They'd throw you off the airship in that case; and if you murdered him outside the airship, they'd take your lifeless body to the highest place nearby and unceremoniously dump your body. Stylish they may be, the Toppats were still ruthless. And two, assuming you weren't an outsider who'd barged his way in and completely overpowered him and his men like a badass, like Henry, the second rule was that if the leader didn't surrender to you, the matter had to be settled in a formal duel. There weren't any particular restrictions on who was allowed to challenge the leader, but it was usually decided on a case-by-case basis. A lowly grunt would be laughed out of the room, but a high-ranking exec of the Clan would be taken pretty seriously.

And Ellie, an outsider who had been personally burned by the leader of the Toppat Clan? Henry winced again. Well, she had demonstrated her skills by sneaking out of The Wall, a pretty big feat. She had also followed him for three days straight back to their skybase... Yeah, yep, she'd _definitely_ have grounds to challenge him. And if he didn't surrender to her, which he definitely couldn't since she'd probably try to execute him next...

Well, he had a feeling that even with his cosmic ability to turn crazy situations in his favor, he might not win that fight...

Geoffrey shook his head at Thomas, looking every bit the sad old man. "Tommy, Tommy..." He chastised playfully. "Still not one to understand the politics, huh?"

Thomas looked confused. "What...?"

"Not everyone in that room was on Henry's side in the first place."

Now it was Dave's turn to look confused. "Wait, huh? Um, can I ask a question...?" Geoffrey blew on his pipe, raising an eyebrow. That only seemed to unnerve Dave more. "Q-Question, yeah, I'll just ask that... Yeah... Um, aren't all of these, um, higher-ups, supposed to be loyal to the leader? I mean, they're all Toppats."

"In theory," Geoffrey blew on his pipe again, taking it out of his mouth and looked up at the sky, growing ever redder. "But you gotta understand that each of the higher-ups are in it for themselves. We're all one clan, but it's too big for one guy to control it all. Sorry Henry," he apologized, receiving a dismissive wave, not taking offense. "Each of those guys, those men and women with power, they got their own base to look after. And not all of 'em were happy when Henry took over." He paused for a second, collecting himself.

"Henry's a lot different from Reggie, hehe, if that's not obvious! Reggie's good at keepin' the status quo, keepin' the Toppats stable, and wasn't afraid to dip his toe into a bit of trouble from time to time. A lot of the higher-ups were fine with him; the last leader, Suave," he rolled his eyes, and Henry gave a quick chuckle. Geoffrey gave a chuckle back, looking at Henry fondly. " _Suave,_ more like _save me,"_ he said in a mocking voice, "Terrence Suave, he was a pretty stinking leader. Didn't live up to the charisma at all and was a poor man's copy of Henry here. That guy couldn't tell the difference between a top hat and a _bowler hat,_ much less assure his clan of anything! And the amount of trouble he'd get us into..." It sounded like he was recalling some pretty cringe-worthy memories of that guy, if his hand against his face said anything.

Henry knew a little about the previous leaders. When he took over, that was the first time he'd taken big responsibility for anything, so he wanted to know what the bars were. There were a few past leaders who stood out to him, like Sir Wilford IV, the greatest Toppat leader in their history, or Randy Radman, the persona of the Toppat's 'Party Era'! He felt starstruck for a second. Honestly, when he read their Toppat bios, he swore he wanted to become a combination of those two!

Terrence Suave however... Deep breath... Yeeahh... That guy got into all sorts of trouble. It was no wonder the higher-ups allowed Reginald, who was still pretty low-ranking at the time, to challenge him; they even gave him a handicap and let RHM (his name still unknown at the time) fight alongside him. They won pretty handily, the higher-ups practically shoved him into leadership, and RHM became what he was known as today.

Geoffrey seemed to catch himself reminiscing and coughed on his own smoke. He calmed down and continued. "Anyway, the higher-ups had good history with Reggie. He didn't launch stupid raids, he played the politics well, he was lookin' like the exact opposite of Suave! Hell, he even managed to tie up our debts and settle things with the government for a while! Well, that is, 'till they sent in Henry to get the _evidence_ they wanted so badly." He laughed uproariously. Thomas chuckled along too, seemingly caught up in the memories as well. "Reginald, now, he represented _stability._ They all took a shinin' to him when he took over, so a lot of problems popped up for them when Henry stepped in."

Henry was confused.

Dave echoed this, but actually spoke. "Didn't you go through some sorta 'age of prosperity' thing with him leading you guys? Ugh, the amount of times I heard one of you cheer about that in the cells... How's that a problem?"

"Not a problem for the Clan, obviously, but for some of the execs, it kinda was." He puffed up another cloud, watching it disappear. "I get them, you know? When Henry started approving a bunch of heists around the world, started filling up the treasury, that's when problems started popping up, and some of them got angry."

Oh. _O_ _hhhhhh._ Now Henry understood...

Dave still looked hopelessly confused, not understanding their organization at all. Geoffrey sighed. "Henry decided to change up a bunch of things after Reggie stepped down. Won't bore you with things like recruitment or budgets, but the biggest issue was _spoils."_ He took a deep breath, preparing himself. "The previous system, the one that divvied up loot across the clan, was pretty straightforward. Each section would get about the same split; the clan's a family like that, and a lot of people were fine with it. Henry here decided to make a little more... meritocratic." He chuckled slightly, knowing himself how weird it was to hear him say such a fancy word.

Henry hung his head more. Was that... the thing that screwed him?

Geoffrey continued. "It goes like this: you need money to make money. A lot of the higher-ups are up there 'cause they've either got a lot of dough, or they were tough as nails, like half-face was." He shook his head, looking sad at saying that. "And they know that being part of the Toppats means helping everyone make money; heists are the biggest thing for that, since a lot of valuables get split across the clan. So it makes sense for them to invest in those operations and get a return on investment. But, they didn't have to." He shrugged. Dave was still following along, curious but not knowing where this was going. Thomas looked like he already figured it out and was reading a book, but still listening. "All they really needed to do was contribute men and other things to the clan. That was it. Henry here, though. He, he changed things up."

"...The ones who invested more in heists got a lot more share." Henry said, pretty quietly. Dave looked at him, shocked. "...The ones who didn't got a lot less."

Geoffrey snapped his fingers. "Bingo. And you approved a _lot more_ heists than I've ever seen. As least since Suave, except way better." He laughed. "Still, even then a few got angry, since not all of those plans were a hit. And since a lot of the higher-ups were being penalized for not going for the risky bids, they got upset. Add onto that you don't really like playing the politics and aren't on the airship half the time, and..." He paused dramatically.

Dave shook his head, realization setting in. "...That makes sense. They miss being led by the other guy so much, and they hate Henry so much, they'd look the other way..."

Thomas scoffed, still sounding posh and formal, but tastefully expressing his discontent. "Truly a Kangaroo Court..."

Henry just kept feeling worse and worse. He didn't think so much on that side of things back then. He'd _never_ been forced to deal with this kind of stuff, with really important people looking to him to get important stuff done, balancing a bunch of interests and making sure everyone doesn't hate him. So he didn't... He was only thinking about the glory, about the amount of riches he could gain with the collective power and resources of the _Toppat Clan_ in his hands, free to use it however he wanted!

It's not like he was completely blind to it all. He knew at some point he'd have to deal with the rising discontent, but he always filed it away for another day. And it just so happened that _another day_ was gonna be the worst day. And when he was having a bad day, the higher-ups weren't gonna be on his side...

But Geoffrey had more to say. "Hey, hey now. Don't look too bummed out, alright? It's not like all of them hate you, Boss!" Henry looked back up, a question in his eyes. Geoffrey leaned forward, eyes glinting. "We're not out of this fight yet."

Thomas closed his book and set it down with a _thud,_ addressing them with a pensive face. "Geoffrey, you're not insinuating that we try to sway elements of the Toppat Clan back on our side, are you?" His voice sounded hesitant, but there was a grasp, a desire for _some_ hope.

"Ahhhh, Tommy!" He cheered, ignoring Thomas' sour face. "You know that's _exactly_ what I'm saying! It's totally possible! You and I stayed loyal, right?"

"Yes, but what you're suggesting is absurdly optimistic!" Thomas decried, opting to stand up and pace. Dave leaned back, choosing just to watch. "Not only do the conspirators outnumber us _severely,_ they've probably already begun warping the events that have transpired in their favor! Even if they didn't believe this Ellie's claims, the rest of the clan will accept it with events as-they-are. There's no one left to counter them! They can spread their lies unimpeded..."

"True," Geoffrey granted. Thomas stopped pacing. "But that doesn't mean everyone's gonna believe it." He looked thoughtful for a second before a dark shadow settled over him. He turned to Henry, who flinched a bit. "...Hey, Boss? So, about what that girl said... is it true?" He asked, sounding apprehensive in even asking.

Henry froze. Like a deer caught in headlights, and the car being everyone else's unsure stares. His eyes flickered between all of them, wanting to sink beneath the sand like if he had jumped off the airship properly. His eyes settled on Geoffrey again before he looked down, defeated. He nodded.

Geoffrey gave out a long sigh, ending it with a curse underneath his breath. Thomas looked at Henry, shocked, before a sad look overtook his face and he shook it. Disappointed, probably. Dave gave Henry a pensive stare, but otherwise wasn't invested enough in his character to look shocked or upset.

"Well... damn, Boss..." Geoffrey whispered. He stopped, ran a hand over his face. "Ugh... that complicates things... I mean, we're not gonna abandon you obviously!" He glanced at Thomas, who shook his vehemently. "But, uh, yeah, the clan won't be too happy... the higher-ups won't even be telling a lie, getting away with their stunt with the truth!" He laughed, a bit humorlessly, but also with a touch of irony.

"I... wasn't thinking too hard about it." They all looked at him once more. "Yeah, Ellie helped out. Like, maybe I could've found another way without asking for her help, but it looked like the easiest way out... And, uh... the thought did cross my mind, taking her with me."

"Why, uh, didn't you?" Dave asked.

Henry rubbed the back of his head, feeling shame. Was there a reason? Whatever it was, it felt pretty arbitrary. Thinking about it now, it wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome of the escape, probably. At the time, though, he was... nervous? In order to pull off an escape with another person, he'd have to quickly learn some new strats. There were some big differences between escaping solo, and escaping in a pair. True, as a pair you could pull off some more complex moves and take out some obstacles easier, but there was also double the risk of getting caught, and there was no guarantee that she wasn't gonna betray him anyway. He was really used to doing these kinds of things himself, and bringing another person along felt... too weird.

Instead, he chose to keep it simple. "I guess if I have to pick a reason, I was afraid she'd slow me down, and I wasn't sure we could escape together..."

Geoffrey shook his head. "Henry... you know that's not a good reason."

He sunk his head, his top hat covering his eyes.

Geoffrey sighed. "If you wanna lie about it, Boss, it's your call... The clan's got a real reason to throw you from the top now, if you stick with the truth. On the other hand, some of 'em might not care and think it was wrong throwing you out anyway. You could still dredge up some support, especially from some of the heavier investors who'll be on the fence. On the other hand, if you stick to your guns and say the higher-ups stuck you in for no good reason, you'll probably get more support across the Toppats, maybe making this Civil War more even, hehe."

Civil War... Damn, that _was_ what this is, wasn't it? ( _Yes Henry,_ the narrator confirms, _this is Toppat Civil Warfare_ ) It sounded so much uglier when it was said out aloud. Karma was a real bitch... He'd rather throw the cosmic dice, stacked against him for a universe-defying middle finger with a _tiny_ chance to salvage this than go through... that.

"It'll definitely piss off the higher-ups, though. There'll be no way to save your reputation among a lot of them, even if we pull a miracle; they'll probably never wanna work with you again. Oh yeah, and that girl, Ellie? If she isn't already pissed, she's sure gonna want your guts after that, Boss..."

...This was pretty important. He had to suck it up, there was no way to avoid this. A fight was brewing, and he had to take the Toppats back. His gaze narrowed, dredging up some of that old confidence. Now, a choice:

Did he lie to his support base, the ones who were confused about his sudden ousting, and claim some virtuous victimhood narrative? Or, did he fess up to the truth, exposing his cowardice and dishonor to the whole Toppat Clan?

There were pros and cons to both, like Geoffrey implied. If he lied, then he could guarantee a much larger following among the Clan, touting the higher-ups as part of a great conspiracy who were vying for power. In this scenario, he paints his opposition as illegitimate usurpers against the true Leader, Henry. On the other hand, this was likely the exact response the higher-ups were expecting him to make. They probably knew he was alive and were already planning a counter-narrative to delegitimize him. It pained him to think about, but Ellie would very likely present herself as the primary victim of his negligence and callousness, a warning to all who follow him that he will not hesitate to use and discard any Toppat; a tyrant, in simple terms. Any sympathetic higher-ups/investors would likely be more swayed by her impassioned counter than his bold lie; especially so, since her side of things was the truth. She'd never forgive him, and would likely work against him to the death. He would be facing off against a highly motivated faction looking to stamp out the lying Henry.

However, if he told the truth... problems would pop up right off the bat. Pretty likely, a lot of Toppat members would turn away from him immediately. He wouldn't be accused of lying, but he'd have to openly wear a badge of deceit that his opposition would mercilessly exploit. His position would appear even less legitimate, and a pretty clear picture could be painted about who was right and who was wrong in this fight... However, there were some positives. Henry, by admitting to the truth and humbly accepting blame for leaving behind Ellie, would deprive the higher-ups of extra ammunition out of the propaganda they could exploit from Ellie's image in the clan's perspective. Not only that, he could more readily reinforce his position as a redeemable leader who brought the Toppat Clan to new glories. If done right, it could sway a decent percentage of Toppats to his side, and maybe even a number of the on-the-fence higher-ups who're more motivated by profits than morality preaching. It would allow him to fight without lying.

But that was a big _If._ Henry thought deeper on it. That was assuming that any counter-narratives didn't break him apart. Especially coming from the new leader they wanted to appoint... Whoever that was... Could they elect... that was a stretch, but... maybe her?

He honestly did feel pretty terrible for leaving her behind. He wasn't gonna lie to _himself_ about that. But, was he willing to not lie to everyone else about it?

He looked to his few supporters. Dave too, he guessed. They had stuck through it with him, and they even knew Ellie was telling the truth. Would every Toppat do the same? No, definitely not. Not even his crazy powers could do something as outlandish as that! He really wanted that position back, and he felt he definitely could get it if he lied. The question was, could he do it if he told the truth?

His reputation was already in tatters right now...

Henry sat straight up, facing Geoffrey and Thomas. Screw it. Might as well go all in; he'll probably regret not hiding behind a lie in the long-run but might as well see how this plays out. Besides, he's defied the odds before.

Henry gave a toothy grin. "The truth."

* * *

Henry finished kicking the sand over their sitting spots. The sun had set and there was only a little bit of light left on the horizon. It was cool enough to keep moving.

Thomas was carrying their supplies, grunting fashionably before humming. "My earlier question still hasn't been answered. Who is going to take up the mantle of leader in Henry's place, now that Reginald is gone?"

Dave looked over from the edge of the cove, not prepared for the question. "Well, uh... it'd have to be one of those higher-ups, right? I mean, it's the perfect time to get one of their own on the top."

"Hmm, it's not out of the realm of possibility..." Thomas granted. "I know of a few of them who may be interested; the benefits of taking leadership are obvious. Perhaps Ms. Cross?"

Cross? Henry deliberated... Oh, right. Carol.

Carol Cross is one of the most influential higher-ups in the entire Toppat Clan, and one Henry had to deal with extensively. Her top hat wasn't anything special, but she _more_ than made up for it in personality. She had _that_ _much_ of a reputation, and she took pride in it. To be honest, Henry always had a difficult time dealing with her. She was polite enough and had the etiquette necessary to navigate the top, but she hadn't gotten to that point by inheritance or anything like that. Cross has a ruthless streak to her name; stories have popped up from time to time about some smaller Clan admin or sect head owing money to one of the Toppat elites. Most of the time you could assume the other party was Carol. You didn't hear these kinds of extortions between her and the other elites, or their direct supporters, because she wasn't stupid enough to entrap someone who was actually important. She always kept these deals under wraps, but didn't bother to hide the knowings of them from other people. If you owed her money, she expected it on time _and no later._ She was kind of a loan shark in that regard, and he always found it pretty bad that she'd stoop to that kind of thing.

On the other hand, weirdly enough, Henry's business relationship with her was probably one of the most stable out of all the higher-ups. She wasn't motivated by arbitrary power in the clan, even though she wouldn't turn it down. Whenever you were dealing with her, the exchange always started, and ended, on the topic of money, which Henry could easily get behind. And on the topic of money, Carol was actually one of the first people who seemed happy with his rise to leadership. She understood the intricacies of setting up heists, and risk management, and sharing the wealth with the Clan. Well, not just her obviously but she was the most obvious example. She played the game; sometimes her investments didn't pay off, and she'd move on with the next one. It was weirdly admirable. She was one of the first bigheads you thought about when the word 'higher-up' appeared, for good reason. Henry couldn't blame Thomas for thinking of her first, but she wasn't a good choice, but not because she'd necessarily be bad.

"Carol?" Geoffrey asked, walking stick slightly buried in the sand. "With her rep? Nah, there's no way. The new leader's gonna be someone either small fry or someone they know won't be similar to Henry. Carol doesn't fit that bill..." Geoffrey looked thought for a moment, before a light bulb popped above his big head. "Wait, hang on! She wasn't on the ship when we were thrown off. Ooh, we might have something! Hey, Henry. Remember what I was sayin' before about some of them not caring about the morality preaching?"

Henry rubbed his chin, feeling unsure. "You think she'll be on my side?" He asked, skeptical.

Geoffrey shrugged. "Probably. I've talked to her a few times, and she was just fine with your leadership." He suddenly turned serious. "No joke, though, you're gonna need help from at least _some_ of the higher-ups. If I were you, I'd pick people like Cross or Poshley (Albert Poshley) and convince 'em that siding with the other higher-ups isn't worth it." He shrugged, going back to his jovial attitude. "But it's up to you, Boss!"

Cross and Poshley, huh? He was gonna have to play more politics it looked like... Henry grimaced. Well, at least they were more interested in the business side of things, so it wouldn't be too bad... They probably wouldn't side with Ellie unless she forced them, but even then that pushy behavior would probably...

Ellie...

Henry's eyes widened. "Ellie..."

Geoffrey raised his eyebrow, not understanding. "Ellie? Yeah, no way is _she_ gonna-" He paused. "Oh..."

"Oh..." Thomas repeated, not following.

Geoffrey rubbed the side of his big head. "I mean, she was the one who accused you of those things, Boss... She's not of the Clan, but if she's tellin' the truth about breaking out of The Wall then she's definitely got a history. And to be fair, you weren't one of us before taking over, either. She kinda was also the one to overthrow you, and without Reggie to come back the higher-ups may have taken a shinin' to her..." He looked somewhat flabbergasted. "Ah, hell. That's pretty bad."

 _Pretty bad_ was putting it mildly... He'd only known her for a very short time, but that girl had a way of getting what she wanted. Henry didn't know why she was in the Wall in the first place, but the Warden's words came back to him... _"Some of the most notorious and cunning criminals are kept here."_ She didn't appear manipulative or cunning in the traditional sense when she popped up in the airship, but she had a dead serious look to her eyes when he was on the plank. The kind of look that seemed to suit her for unorthodoxy, kinda like him. The higher-ups probably thought, since she technically was the one to force him to jump, that was close enough qualification for the Denouncement Ceremony to make _her_ the new leader. And they thought they might be able to control her.

He had a strong feeling it'd backfire strongly on them if they tried. And that would mean she would be capable of throwing the full might of the Toppat Clan on him... Oh Hell... Henry was in for a wild ride.

Henry shook his head, trying to keep the dread off his face. He re-secured his top hat and walked forward, past Geoffrey.

Geoffrey stammered. "Y-Yeah, Boss! No way are we gettin' scared off so easily!" He tapped his walking stick and joined him at the edge, facing the desert south. Dave and Thomas stood a ways behind them. "Plans are still the same if she's the new leader or not. Now, we just gotta get you a support base."

"Jungle base?" Henry asked.

Geoffrey snapped his fingers. "Right, yeah. Oh, duh! Yeah, yeah, we got the rocket plan going ahead of schedule! We, uh, we were gonna go lookin' for you Boss, but we didn't really know where you went, hehe..." He chuckled nervously.

Henry gestured the other two to join them and took a deep breath. He and Reginald had been pioneering a space station idea for the longest times. Ever since the moon landing became a thing, Toppat leaders and advisors had been throwing around ideas at taking their crimes to the next level. The one place untouched by Governments and laws! SPACE!

*cough* *cough*

...Yeah. Anyway, Henry _hadn't_ given approval to the plan prior to his disappearance... Another sneaky maneuver by Reginald, it looks like. Still, Henry did like the plan, but clearly things had already gotten out of hand. He couldn't let Ellie be the one to win this space race. If she and her new supporters were the Toppats who got the station into orbit first, he'd have a waaaay harder time taking control back from her. If the plan was already a go-ahead then as they speak, Toppat treasuries and valuables were being loaded onto a rocket _right now._

They needed to move.

So... Henry grimaced...

He took out the one device that he had been dreading pulling out.

"Hmm," Thomas voiced. "What is that device, Sir?"

Geoffrey glared at it. "Is that one of those transdimensionalizer things I've heard so many bad reviews about? Gadget Gabe gave them a pretty bad score last time I checked..."

Henry was gonna regret this.

"...What the heck are you guys talking ab—HEY! What the?!"

He punched in a set of coordinates South, _making sure_ that the vertical alignment made contact with the Earth's surface, and not the crust or outer space, and punched it...

* * *

"Oh dear _LORD!"_

 _"AUUGHH!_ Why do my eyes hurt?!"

"YOU COULDA' WARNED US, BOSS!"

Henry groaned, settling in from the sudden displacement from desert sand to... grass?

He froze, patting the ground he was laying on. He quickly disentangled himself from the three and spun to take in his surroundings.

That... went a lot better than he expected. And given the Teleporter's track record, that was more than impressive.

"Ugh... seriously Boss, my bones aren't nearly so flexible nowadays to be pulled into one of those stunts. Jeez..." He got up, noticing Henry staring out on the edge. "What're you- well, I'll be..."

Thomas lamented the dirty defilement of his duel monocles again before dusting himself off. He lifted up Dave, who was probably super done from all this craziness, and limped him along until they took in the sight themselves.

Yep, that was the rocket, Henry realized. Looks like Reginald's idea for it to be an amalgamation between an actual, defendable station and a luxurious mansion was structurally sound after all.

There were at least hundreds of nodes of activity down there, peering above from the cliff base. Lights were shining all over the base, activity going on well into the night. Tons of trucks filled with necessary mechanical equipment and collected valuables over the years made their way across the half-mile ramp between the ground and the rocket hanger. Dozens of train carts were being unloaded. And there, at the bottom of the cliff, was a dying down airship, having recently made the landing and unloading its passengers.

"Huh." Geoffrey said, tone caught somewhere between astonished and completely lost. He just decided to go with the flow of things and lean back on his walking stick, taking in the evening view. "Well, you definitely don't do things by half, Henry. I guess this is where we start?"

A plan of action was forming in Henry's head, if his cocky little smile was anything to go by. He wasn't looking forward to facing off against Ellie again, but he would be damned if he'd let go of his leadership so easily. There were also a ton of options he could pick from in how he wanted to proceed.

He brimmed his hat, running his hand along the gold chain wrapped around it. Time for a bit of Insurrection Resurgence.

**Author's Note:**

> I think a lot of writers could have some fun with the TCW ending. Play around with it some! I'm not gonna be making anything else directly following this piece, but you can easily use your imagination to see what kind of hijinks are next for this ragtag group. Oh, and future confrontations between Henry and Ellie, those are extremely fun to think about!


End file.
